Stock Up On The Vermillion Grapefruit And Get Baking With These Delicious Recipes

Grapefruit brings an intriguing duality to desserts with its balance of sweet and tart taste and its subtle acidity enhances the natural flavor of other ingredients without overwhelming them. Its beautiful crimson orange to a deep shade of pink also makes for a great garnish to desserts and makes a great addition to fruit salads. So here are some aesthetically pleasing and delicious recipes featuring the grapefruit:

1. Grapefruit Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 125 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
• 150 gm all-purpose flour
• 50 gm confectioners' powdered sugar (and a little extra for sprinkling on top)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)

Filling:

• 300 gm sugar
• 50 gm all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 250 ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained (1-2 grapefruits depending on size)
• 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
• 2-3 drops pink food coloring

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 180°C and line the baking dish with parchment paper, using a little butter or non-stick spray on the bottom of the pan so it doesn't move around.
• In a medium bowl, use a pastry cutter, fork or hands to combine the 125 gm butter, 150 gm flour, 50 gm powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt until crumbly with small pieces of butter throughout. Press evenly into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden.
• While the crust bakes, in a large bowl whisk the 300 gm sugar and 50 gm flour until combined. Beat in the 4 large eggs, then stir in the 250 ml grapefruit juice, 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest and 2-3 drops of food coloring.
• Once the crust is done, carefully pour the filling over the hot crust. Bake another 25 minutes, checking at 20 minutes, until no longer jiggly in the center.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 2 hours to set. Use the parchment to lift the bars from the pan. Slice into 12 even pieces.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving.

2. Grapefruit Posset

Ingredients:

• 600 ml heavy cream
• 150 gm sugar
• 270 ml fresh grapefruit juice

Garnish

• 5 ml grapefruit zest
• 5 ml sugar
• Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:

• In a saucepan, add the heavy cream and sugar over medium-high heat. Stir constantly as it heats up.
• Bring it to a gentle boil and let it boil for 3 minutes, continuing to stir.
• Reduce the heat to medium if it starts bubbling too much, but maintain a gentle boil. Lift the pan off the heat briefly if it bubbles up too much, then return to the heat and keep stirring.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the grapefruit juice.
• Pour the mixture into 150-200 ml serving dishes or ramekins. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until set.
• When ready to serve, zest one grapefruit (5 ml). Mix the zest with the sugar. Sprinkle over the posset and top with whipped cream if desired.

3. Orange and Grapefruit Panna Cotta

Ingredients:

• 250 ml Orange Juice
• 250 ml Pink Grapefruit Juice
• 25 g Orange Zest
• 25 g Pink Grapefruit Zest
• 250 ml Plant-Based Milk (Soy Milk, Coconut Milk or Similar)
• 500 ml Coconut Cream
• 15 g Brown Sugar
• 15 g Agar Agar Powder

Instructions:

• In a medium-sized pot, bring the Orange Juice and Zest, Grapefruit Juice and Zest, Milk, Cream, and Sugar to a boil, whisking continuously to prevent burning. The Agar will only work if brought up to a certain temperature, so it is important to have the liquid boiling.
• Once boiling, add the Agar Agar Powder and continue whisking for 3 to 5 minutes until the Agar has dissolved and the liquid starts thickening slowly. It is important to stir the Agar in for long enough to activate it.
• Remove from the heat and pour into Silicone molds placed on a small tray, to keep the mold straight and steady when moving to the fridge.
• Place the molds in the fridge to cool until set to a thick jelly texture.

4. Grapefruit Yogurt Loaf

Ingredients:

• 300 gm all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 2.5 gm baking powder
• 1 gm salt
• 3 large eggs
• 180 gm Greek yogurt
• 200 gm packed light brown sugar
• 120 ml vegetable or canola oil (melted and slightly cooled coconut oil also works)
• 60 ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
• 2.5 ml grapefruit zest
• 1.5 ml pure vanilla extract
• Seeds scraped from half of a vanilla bean

Grapefruit Glaze:

• 120 gm confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 30 ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
• 0.5 ml pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 23cm x 10cm loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Then add the yogurt, brown sugar, oil, grapefruit juice, zest, vanilla extract, and seeds and mix well.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (flour mix) and mix just until combined.
• Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, loosely covering with foil if topping browns too quickly.
• Allow to cool before drizzling with glaze made by whisking the glaze ingredients together.
• Slice and serve, storing leftovers at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator.